Everybody needs good neighbours...and Scottish city has the best in the UK

Sheona Small

Everybody needs good neighbours, as the song says, and Glaswegians are now officially top residents when it comes to getting on with the people next door.

A mighty 58 per cent of people surveyed in the Glasgow described their neighbourly relations as either good or very good.

This the highest in the UK - coming in at ten per cent over the national average and nearly double that of Birmingham, where only 30 per cent of residents describe their relationship with neighbours as good.

Brits are often labelled as one of the friendliest nations in the world, however, the findings of research by banking group first direct suggest people are lacking the basic neighbourly acts of kindness.

Only half of Brits bother to introduce themselves to new neighbours and, disappointingly, we’re more likely to have a disagreement with our neighbours than welcome them with a card or gift.

However, Glaswegians seem to be the exception to their other UK cities as 60 per cent have leant an item to another neighbour, one in five have welcomed new neighbours with gifts or cards and nearly half of Glaswegians have helped out a neighbour in a crisis.

A survey of 2000 people was conducted by The Leadership Factor on behalf of first direct.

Zoe Burns Shore, of first direct, said: “We found that the majority of people really do want to get to know their neighbours but are just lacking that confidence to go and introduce themselves or spark up a conversation.”

With Glasgow’s great neighbourly relations comes great benefits.

Three out of four people said they feel safer in their home as a result of being neighbourly, 70 per cent said it made them feel like part of a community and a massive 77 per cent say it made them happier about where they live.

Interestingly, it seems these tighter knit communities in Glasgow are also more likely to support their local shops, as 70 per cent of residents say they shop with their local businesses, the highest in the UK.